Convicted Cheltenham killer loses latest appeal

NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man has lost his latest appeal and will continue to serve decades in prison for the fatal shooting of his estranged girlfriend’s new boyfriend during a domestic-related incident in Cheltenham on Christmas Day 2011.

Rayshon Carwheel’s appeal under Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act, in which he challenged the effectiveness of his lawyer and the legality of his negotiated guilty plea and sentence, “is meritless,” Montgomery County Judge Joseph A. Smyth wrote in a June 9 order. The ruling means Carwheel’s state prison sentence of 22 ½ to 50 years will remain intact.

In dismissing Carwheel’s appeal the judge noted that a court-appointed appellate lawyer also previously determined that Carwheel’s appeal had no merit.

Carwheel, now 26, formerly of North Park Avenue, could appeal the judge’s ruling to state Superior Court.

Advertisement

On Jan. 2, 2013, Carwheel pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder, recklessly endangering another person and firearms not to be carried without a license in connection with the 1:55 a.m. Dec. 25, 2011, shooting death of 25-year-old Robens Borno as Borno wrapped gifts at his Elkins Park home in the 1400 block of Beech Avenue.

Smyth imposed the sentence as part of a plea agreement. The sentence included the maximum term of 20-to-40-years imprisonment for third-degree murder, which is a killing committed with malice.

A charge of first-degree murder, which is an intentional killing and is punishable of life imprisonment, was dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

A second Philadelphia man charged in connection with the murder, Ezra Childs, now 24, of the 3900 block of Dell Street, pleaded guilty to charges of third-degree murder and firearms not to be carried without a license and was sentenced to five to 10 years in prison and five years’ probation in connection with the shooting.

An investigation began when Cheltenham police responded to the Beech Avenue residence and found Borno, who sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, in the dining room of the home, according to the arrest affidavit. Borno was pronounced dead at Einstein Hospital at 2:26 a.m.

Carwheel’s estranged girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, broke up with Carwheel in early December and she became involved with Borno, according to the criminal complaint. Lawyers described Carwheel’s relationship with his estranged girlfriend as on-again, off-again.

Borno, his girlfriend and her mother were sitting at the dining room table wrapping gifts when Carwheel and Childs appeared in the home with guns, according to the criminal complaint.

“(Carwheel’s estranged girlfriend) said she asked Borno to pass her a piece of tape and heard gunshots being fired behind her and saw Borno fall to the floor,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Cheltenham and county detectives.

Witnesses told police they saw Carwheel in the dining room and Childs, who is also known as Scooter, standing behind Carwheel near a kitchen door, according to the arrest affidavit. Childs reportedly is Carwheel’s cousin, court papers indicate.

Witnesses reported that after the shooting, Carwheel said to his estranged girlfriend, “I’ve been calling you all day and night and you don’t answer the phone” and “Oh, this is why you couldn’t answer the phone,” according to the arrest affidavit.